I was looking on ebay for a used insulated engine cover and came across Mac's Airplane covers (https://www.airplane-covers.com/mac/).

$269 for a custom/fit-to-plane insulated cowling cover. Seems too good to be true considering all other companies are $500. Just called them and a nice lady confirmed the price and said they would want a couple measurements for my Maule but had done them before.

Has anyone used them before?

Thanks,
Asa

Yeah, I bought one for my 180. It’s nice and gets the job done. The insulation probably isn’t even half the thickness of my Kennon cover on the cub, but it’s well made with good stitching. Does a nice job holding in the heat during preheat. I’d buy another one if I needed one.

A friend stitched me one for my old Stinson out of a couple quasi defective sleeping bags, worked fine while I had the plane

I don’t see $250 being warning sign cheap, I might not risk it on say a $35 one, but $250 and good reviews I say go for it as long as the material is of a known name brand/quality if you’re leaving it outside a ton

slow18 wrote:Yeah, I bought one for my 180. It’s nice and gets the job done. The insulation probably isn’t even half the thickness of my Kennon cover on the cub, but it’s well made with good stitching. Does a nice job holding in the heat during preheat. I’d buy another one if I needed one.

That's the type of info I was looking for. A little less insulation will likely work for me, at least for half price. I don't winter in super cold places. Thank you!

NineThreeKilo wrote:A friend stitched me one for my old Stinson out of a couple quasi defective sleeping bags, worked fine while I had the plane

I don’t see $250 being warning sign cheap, I might not risk it on say a $35 one, but $250 and good reviews I say go for it as long as the material is of a known name brand/quality if you’re leaving it outside a ton

I'd risk the shit out of it for $35.

asa wrote:

slow18 wrote:Yeah, I bought one for my 180. It’s nice and gets the job done. The insulation probably isn’t even half the thickness of my Kennon cover on the cub, but it’s well made with good stitching. Does a nice job holding in the heat during preheat. I’d buy another one if I needed one.

That's the type of info I was looking for. A little less insulation will likely work for me, at least for half price. I don't winter in super cold places. Thank you!

NineThreeKilo wrote:A friend stitched me one for my old Stinson out of a couple quasi defective sleeping bags, worked fine while I had the plane

I don’t see $250 being warning sign cheap, I might not risk it on say a $35 one, but $250 and good reviews I say go for it as long as the material is of a known name brand/quality if you’re leaving it outside a ton

I'd risk the shit out of it for $35.

Lol, true

Should have said I’d expect more failure for $35

My sleeping bag rig was mostly used for preheating and for brief stops when it was very cold, worked great and think I was in under $100 for it

Not everything in aviation HAS to be expensive in my experience, post a PIREP when you get the new cover

I got one from them and my only gripe is that its maybe an inch shorter than I'd like on my MX-7-180. Overall, seems like a really nice cover and its pretty dang thick.

Norcal64d wrote:I got one from them and my only gripe is that its maybe an inch shorter than I'd like on my MX-7-180. Overall, seems like a really nice cover and its pretty dang thick.

I ended up finding your pictures on the maule pilots forum, they were helpful in making the decision. I ordered and will give a pirep when it arrives.

$269 + $35 shipping. Killer deal compared to competitors. Maybe it I was using it in the arctic winter I might seek a thicker one but seems good enough for me.

Thanks!

I bought one at end of winter last year for my strait tail 182 My plane is hangared in Payette, ID and it is pretty chilly at times. Not as thick as the 500 dollar model but I think mine is just right. I have a Uhaul packing blanket I sometimes toss over the cover for a bit extra.

I recommend them

I have an EZ heat sump heater and with it on overnight and that cowl cover, my whole engine is about 55-60 degrees in 0 degree temps so I'm pretty happy with it. I landed in Burlington for about 3 hours and put the cowl cover on in 20 degree temps and my engine was still warm when I was ready to leave. For what I wanted, I think its pretty great and honestly if you put more insulation in it, it would take up the whole cargo area.

Great find and feedback guys! I’m going to give them a call and see if they can make one for my Bearhawk.

I bought one from them, was hesitant due to price but fit great and no issues since I got it in December.

Had one for my old 172. Worked good as stated above. Fit nicely as well.

I ended up getting mine. I’d say I’m 70% happy with the fit. Very satisfied with the thickness, quality, and price.

They aren’t making actual custom ones, they just compare your measurements to the models they have and ship the one they think will work. On Maules it means it’s a funky fit.

Good time to revisit this. Anyone have feedback after a year/winter of use?

Same as before. High quality, great price, not a perfect fit but gets the job done very well.